Saturday evening November 12

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.Lord, come quickly and help us.

All your faithful ones bless you.They speak of the glory of your kingdom.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,our light and our salvation,to you be glory and praise forever.Now, as darkness is falling,wash away our transgressions,cleanse us by your refining fireand make us temples of your Holy Spirit.By the light of Christ,dispel the darkness of our heartsand make us ready to enter your kingdom,where songs of praise forever sound.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,so may your mercy come down upon usto cleanse our heartsand set us free to sing your praisenow and forever.Amen.

Throughout the universe it reigns,Unalterably sure;And, while the truth of God remains,His goodness must endure.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,he will save us from our desperate circumstances.

God will bring us out of darknessand out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive usby the death of his Sonand strengthen usto live in the power of the Spiritall our days.Amen.

Let us thank the Lord for his faithful love,and his wondrous works for all people.

Let us offer thanksgiving sacrificesand declare what God has done in songs of joy.

cf Psalm 107

The Word of God

Psalm 84

Refrain: Those who live in your house are truly happy.

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of heavenly forces!My very being longs, even yearns, for the Lord’s courtyards.My heart and my body will rejoice out loud to the living God!Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there; the swallow has found herself a nest where she can lay her young beside your altars, Lord of heavenly forces, my king, my God!Those who live in your house are truly happy; they praise you constantly. Those who put their strength in you are truly happy; pilgrimage is in their hearts.As they pass through the Baca Valley, they make it a spring of water. Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.They go from strength to strength, until they see the supreme God in Zion.

Lord God of heavenly forces, hear my prayer; listen closely, Jacob’s God! Look at our shield, God; pay close attention to the face of your anointed one!Better is a single day in your courtyards than a thousand days anywhere else!

I would prefer to stand outside the entrance of my God’s house than live comfortably in the tents of the wicked!The Lord is a sun and shield; God is favor and glory.The Lord gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things to those who walk with integrity.Lord of heavenly forces, those who trust in you are truly happy!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Those who live in your house are truly happy.

Psalm prayer

Lord God,sustain us in this vale of tearswith the vision of your grace and glory,that, strengthened by the bread of life,we may come to your eternal dwelling place;in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 86

Refrain: All the nations that you’ve made will comeand bow down before you, Lord.

Lord, listen closely to me and answer me, because I am poor and in need.Guard my life because I am faithful. Save your servant who trusts in you—you! My God!Have mercy on me, Lord, because I cry out to you all day long.Make your servant’s life happy again because, my Lord, I offer my life to you, because, my Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of faithful love for all those who cry out to you.Listen closely to my prayer, Lord; pay close attention to the sound of my requests for mercy.Whenever I am in trouble, I cry out to you, because you will answer me.My Lord! There is no one like you among the gods! There is nothing that can compare to your works!All the nations that you’ve made will come and bow down before you, Lord; they will glorify your name, because you are awesome and a wonder-worker. You are God. Just you.Teach me your way, Lord, so that I can walk in your truth. Make my heart focused only on honoring your name.I give thanks to you, my Lord, my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify your name forever, because your faithful love toward me is awesome and because you’ve rescued my life from the lowest part of hell.The arrogant rise up against me, God. A gang of violent people want me dead. They don’t give a thought for you.But you, my Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy; you are very patient and full of faithful love.Come back to me! Have mercy on me! Give your servant your strength; save this child of your servant!Show me a sign of your goodness so that those who hate me will see it and be put to shame— show a sign that you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: All the nations that you’ve made will comeand bow down before you, Lord.

Psalm prayer

God of mercy,who in your great lovedrew your Son from the depths of the Pit,bring your people from death to life,that we may rejoice in your compassionand praise you now and forever.

Old Testament readingIsaiah 8:16-9:7

Bind up the testimony; seal up the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in God. Look! I and the children the Lord gave me are signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of heavenly forces, who lives on Mount Zion.

If they say to you: “Consult the ghosts and the spirits that chirp and mutter. (Shouldn’t a people consult its gods?) Consult the dead on behalf of the living for instruction and for testimony”—they will surely say such things, but they will never see the dawn.

They will pass through the land, dejected and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse their king and God. They will turn toward heaven and look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, random movement, and the anguish and doom of banishment.

Nonetheless, those who were in distress won’t be exhausted. At an earlier time, God cursed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but later he glorified the way of the sea, the far side of the Jordan, and the Galilee of the nations.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy.They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest, as those who divide plunder rejoice.As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them, the staff on their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.Because every boot of the thundering warriors, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned, fuel for the fire.A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.There will be vast authority and endless peace for David’s throne and for his kingdom, establishing and sustaining it with justice and righteousness now and forever.

The zeal of the Lord of heavenly forces will do this.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingMatthew 6:19-34

“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

“Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:God, you have done great things, and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoredbecause the mighty one has done great things for me.Holy is his name.He shows mercy to everyone,from one generation to the next,who honors him as God.He has shown strength with his arm.He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.He has pulled the powerful down from their thronesand lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty-handed.He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,remembering his mercy, just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:God, you have done great things, and holy is your name.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offeredfor peacefor individuals and their needs

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

In faith we prayWe pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Father,whose will is to restore all thingsin your beloved Son, the King of all:govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,and bring the families of the nations,divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,to be subject to his just and gentle rule;who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.Amen.